Northfield, IL—The College of American Pathologists (CAP) Laboratory Accreditation Program this week released enhanced checklists that are used in the accreditation inspection process to help laboratories meet Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requirements. The CAP accredits nearly 7,500 laboratories in 50 countries.

The program is based on rigorous accreditation standards that are translated into detailed checklist requirements. CAP inspection teams use the checklists, a quality practice blueprint for laboratories, as a guide to assess the laboratory’s overall management and operation. The CAP’s program is internationally recognized and the only one of its kind that utilizes teams of practicing laboratory professionals as inspectors. Designed to go well beyond regulatory compliance, the program helps laboratories achieve the highest standards of excellence to positively impact patient care.

In the 2013 edition, the CAP added new requirements for next generation sequencing for maternal plasma to identify fetal aneuploidy to the Molecular Pathology checklist. Other additions include new requirements for newborn screening in the quality monitoring, consent, results, and reporting sections of the Clinical Biochemical Genetics checklist and in the specimen collection section of the Lab General checklist.

The CAP’s Checklist Committee, chaired by Gerald Hoeltge, MD, FCAP, focuses all year on enhancing the checklists to maintain program stringency and the highest standards of patient care.

“The checklists serve as an effective tool for CAP inspection teams to lead and conduct thorough, consistent, and fair laboratory inspections,” Dr. Hoeltge said. “CAP Accreditation’s goal is to improve patient safety and advancing the quality of pathology and laboratory services. All the while, we strive to include the latest in the science of laboratory medicine in burgeoning disciplines such as molecular pathology.”

Details about the checklist enhancements will be shared during an audio-conference, which Dr. Hoeltge will lead, on September 18 as related to clinical pathology. For more information, visit www.cap.org, email education@cap.org, or call 800-323-4040 option 1. A session was held in July to address anatomic pathology-specific changes.

About the College of American Pathologists

As the leading organization for board-certified pathologists, the College of American Pathologists (CAP) serves patients, pathologists, and the public by fostering and advocating excellence in the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine worldwide. With more than 18,000 physician members, the CAP has led laboratory accreditation for more than 50 years with nearly 7,500 CAP-accredited laboratories in 50 countries. Find more information about the CAP at cap.org.